Gianni Infantino, the slippery and shiny-headed FIFA president, is set to grandstand at a press conference in Mexico on Wednesday evening. Unless he announces his immediate resignation, it is difficult to imagine there will be anything worth listening to. Infantino's latest World Cup has not even kicked off, but already it feels as if FIFA's president is determined to make it a hard, wholly unedifying watch.
Through Scottish eyes, it is easy to focus purely on Steve Clarke and his squad as they continue preparations for Saturday night's Group C opener against Haiti. The players were given a day off yesterday to spend some downtime in Charlotte. Some went shopping, some were given a VIP tour of the Carolina Panthers' 75,000-seat stadium, and Craig Gordon stayed at home to put his feet up with a cup of tea. That is really all that should be focused on now that we are just days away from competing on the biggest stage of all for the first time since 1998.
The chances are, when the first ball is kicked, we will not even stop to notice what is really going on here. The absolute shame of it. And that is just the way Infantino wants it to be. His love letters to Donald Trump and his infatuation with this freak show POTUS have been upfront for some time now. He does not even try to hide it. By creating a peace prize for a man who subsequently brought about the brink of World War III, it was truly vomit inducing. And all done with maximum fanfare and full exposure in front of a global audience.
What many people do not know, however, is the lengths Infantino has gone to in order to jump with both feet into Trump's back pocket. Recently, the New York Times reported that, for the past year, FIFA has leased an office on the 17th floor of Trump Tower in New York that has been pretty much empty the whole time. The rent has been paid straight into Trump's family business, and although no figures have been specified, it can be safely assumed we are talking top dollar. Throughout that time, Infantino has sidled up to Trump at every possible opportunity. He has made pilgrimages to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, visited him at the Oval Office, played golf on the president's own courses, and even made a guest appearance at the 'Melania' documentary premiere.
Infantino might argue that it is his job to rub and massage Trump's ego and to ensure that this summer's tournament goes off without a hitch. But the closer we get to the first whistle, the less that argument passes any kind of smell test. It stunk long before one of FIFA's top referees, Omar Abdulkadir Artan, was turned around by US border control and told to board a plane back to Somalia. The Iranian national team have also been told they are not welcome in Trumpland and so had to switch their base camp to Tijuana in Mexico. They will travel across the border on the day of their games in Los Angeles and Seattle before being bussed back again after the final whistle. And they will do so without 15 of their support staff who have been denied entry visas by Trump's administration.
So where exactly is Infantino in all of this? And how exactly will he attempt to justify his silence when he does finally find his voice at tomorrow's grand address? None of it should come as any surprise, of course. The world had to hold its nose when Infantino took the tournament to Russia and then Qatar, while ignoring all manner of real-world humanitarian issues. In truth, throughout his term in the highest office, this self-serving lickspittle of a man has been whoring out the beautiful game to whichever autocrat or despot is willing to slap the most grease on his hands.
And all this before the vast majority of supporters from around the planet attempt to make their way here into the States. Already, some of the Tartan Army's foot soldiers have discovered that they will not be made welcome or given access through border control. And in many cases, for no apparent reason. It beggars belief that supporters found it easier to travel to Russia and Qatar than they will to the US of A, but Infantino does not seem in the slightest bit perturbed by this head-scratching anomaly.
Trump refers to Infantino as 'The King of Football' while speaking about him in first-name terms only. It really is pass-the-sick-bag stuff. Infantino has also expressed interest in launching FIFA's own cryptocurrency. The Trumps have beaten him to that. And as for that empty office space on Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan? Well, a FIFA spokesman has said the governing body is paying 'market rent' for it and that the office will indeed be staffed up throughout the course of the World Cup. Of course it will.
Shortly after Trump's second inauguration, a gushing Infantino declared: 'Together we will make not only America great again but also the entire world.' Jesus H Christ. And now, here we all are, in Trump's own back yard, pleading with POTUS and his shiny-headed pal to be given our ball back. When it begins, of course, our eyes will remain locked on all of the good stuff. That is precisely how it worked four years ago in Qatar. But there is a nasty smell around this World Cup before it has even begun, and very soon it might stink worse than the New York sewers.
